Dispensing control member for interfolded tissues

ABSTRACT

A CARTON FOR DISPENSING INTERFOLDED FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL WHICH INCLUDES A FLEXIBLE, DISPENSING CONTROL MEMBER, HAVING A CLOSED, GENERALLY ELLIPTICAL PROFILE THE CONTROL MEMBER IS CONSTRUCTED FROM A SINGLE, FOLDED SHEET, PREFERABLY PAPERBOARD, THE ENDS OF WHICH ARE SEAMED TOGETHER. THE CONTROL MEMBER, AS FORMED, HAS TWO VERTICALLY ALIGNED OPENINGS THEREIN AND IS FASTENED TO AND DEPENDENT FROM THE TOP WALL OF THE DISPENSING CARTON SO THAT THE OPENINGS IN THE CONTROL MEMBER ARE IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH AN OPENING IN THE TOP WALL OF THE DISPENSING CARTON, THEREBY ALLOWING THE TOP SHEET IN THE CARTON TO BE GRASPED BY REACHING THROUGH THE OPENING IN THE TOP WALL AND THE OPENINGS IN THE CONTROL MEMBER.

p 20, 1971 M. w. KUCHENBECKER 3,606,082

DISPENSING CONTROL MEMBER FOR INTERFOLDED TISSUES Filed June 4, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGQ/ FIG.4 4a 20 I9 23 45 2?]: /9/

INVENTOR. MORRIS W. KUCHENBECKER m n/r P 20, 1971 i M. w. KUCHENBECKER 3,606,082

DISPENSING CONTROL MEMBER FOR INTERFOLDED TISSUES Filed June 4, 1969 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.8 1/1 /4 as l w 435 INVENTOR. MORRIS W. KUCHENBECKER BY p m Ira/ONE Y Maw,

Ann/7" //7 Ila FIGJO 3,606,082 DISPENSING CONTROL MEMBER FOR IYTERFOLDED TISSUES Morris W. Kuchenbecker, Neenah, Wis., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y. Filed June 4, 1969,, Ser. No. 830,331 Int. Cl. A47k /24 US. Cl. 221-52 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carton for dispensing interfolded flexible sheet materials which includes a flexible, dispensing control member, having a closed, generally elliptical profile. The control member is constructed from a single, folded sheet, preferably paperboard, the ends of which are seamed together. The control member, as formed, has two vertically aligned openings therein and is fastened to and dependent from the top wall of the dispensing carton so that the openings in the control member are in vertical alignment with an opening in the top wall of the dispensing carton, thereby allowing the top sheet in the carton to be grasped by reaching through the opening in the top wall and the openings in the control member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A package for dispensing flexible sheet materials such as paper tissues has long been sought from which tissues could be easily removed either individually or as an aggregate and in which the top tissue would always be readily accessible to the users grasp, regardless of the height of the stack of tissues remaining therein. Dispensers containing unconnected tissues were quite unsatisfactory in the respect that the top tissue tended to lie flat on the stack and was, therefore, difiicult to grasp and difficult to remove one at a time. For this reason interconnected tissues, in combination with a dispensing control member used to separate the tissues, became popular in an effort to provide the desired dispenser. With this combination in a dispenser, a portion of the top tissue was supported in an erect position, thereby making it easier to grasp and remove the top tissue, one tissue at a time. Familiar paperboard dispensing control members in US. Pats. No. 3,207,360 and No. 3,265,242 and plastic dispensing control members as in US. Pat. No. 3,369,699 provided some advantages in separating interfolded tissues, thereby facilitating the dispensing of individual tissues.

However, the control members in heretofore developed dispensers had concomitant drawbacks. The control members tended to become misaligned with respect to the top tissue and thereby inoperative, to interfere with access to the top tissue, thereby making it difficult to grasp the top tissue, and to interfere with the loading of the dispensing carton with tissues. Principally, these drawbacks occurred due to the fact that no previously developed control member combined all the following features which seem to be necessary for proper dispensing of interfolded tissues:

(1) Attachment to the dispensing carton to prevent misalignment and to facilitate the loading of the dispenser;

(2) Hand size openings in the control member that are in line with respect to a carton opening so that the top tissue is always readily accessible by reaching through the openings in the carton and in the control member to grasp the top tissue; and

United States Patent 3,606,082 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 (3) Suitable and reliable means to separate the interconnected tissues and to elevate a substantial portion of the top tissue as the tissue, formerly above it, is dispensed, regardless of the number of tissues remaining in the dispenser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.

In order to overcome the drawbacks in previous dispensing control members as indicated in the background of the invention, this invention relates to a flexible, dispensing control member having a closed, generally elliptical profile. The control member includes an upper sheet member having a generally rectangular shape and an opening therein and a lower sheet member having a generally rectangular shape and an opening therein. The end portions of the lower sheet member are fastened to the end portions of the upper sheet member and a portion of the opening in the lower sheet member is in vertical alignment with a portion of the opening in the upper sheet member.

Numerous additional advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dispensing control member before the ends thereof have been fastened together.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the folded dispensing control member, with its ends fastened together.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the top of a tissue dispenser, showing the dispensing control member mounted in the dispensing carton, as seen through the opening in the top wall.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing the dispensing control member folded up against the underside of the top wall of the filled dispensing carton.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the lower member of the dispensing control member resting upon a stack of C-fold interfolded tissues.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4, showing the generally elliptical profile of the dispensing control member when fastened to and dependent from the top wall of the dispensing carton, and showing the position of the upstanding top tissue after the removal of a number of tissues from the stack.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6 showing the profile of the upstanding top tissue.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a modified dispensing control member before the ends thereof have been fastened together.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the folded, modified dispensing control member, shown in FIG. 8, with its ends fastened together.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the profile of the modified dispensing control member, shown in FIG. 9, when fastened to and dependent from the top wall of the dispensing carton.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 shows a dispensing control member, generally 11, henceforth referred to as a control member, for a dispenser of interfolded tissues. The control member 11, in FIG. 1, is in its unassembled condition, being shown as a flat sheet. The control member 11, in its un- 3 assembled condition as well as in its condition during assembly and in its assembled condition, will hereinafter be more fully described.

The dispenser made in connection with the preferred embodiment of the instant invention includes a conventional, generally rectangular dispensing carton, generally 41, henceforth referred to as a carton, and a stack of interfolded sheets such as facial tissues 51 or other thin, flexible sheet material henceforth referred to as tissues, besides the control member 11 of the instant invention.

The carton 41 is constructed in the manner of a conventional dispensing box for facial tissues from relatively common and inexpensive materials such as paperboard so as to be disposable when all of the tissues therein have been dispensed. The carton 41 is constructed with two side walls, two end walls, a bottom wall and a top wall, generally 43. The top wall 43 of the dispensing carton 41 is provided with a dispensing opening 45 as shown in FIG. 3.

The tissues 51 consist of a plurality of C-fold interfolded tissues, a few of which are shown as 52, 53, 54. As shown in FIG. 5, each C-fold tissue has two flap portions, a longer flap portion 52b, 53b, 54b and a shorter fiap portion 52a, 53a, 54a. Each tissue flap lies beneath the body of the tissue, and the shorter flap portion of each tissue is interleaved with the longer flap portion of the tissue lying above it; i.e.: 53a in 52b and 54a in 53b. C-fold interfolded tissues have been used in the preferred embodiment because they offer the advantage of being adapted to both individual and aggregate dispensing. However, other conventional types of interfolded tissues, such as the S-fold or the V-fold, are also suitable for use with the control member 11 of the instant invention.

The control member 11 is constructed from a flexible, low-cost disposable sheet material such as paperboard or any other material such as plastic that might be suitable in the carton 41. On the preferred embodiment of this invention, the control member 11 is constructed from a single fiat sheet, the two end portions of which are fastened together to form the unitary control member 11. However, as will be clear from the later discussion, the control member 11 of the instant invention might alternately be constructed from two or more flat, rectangular sheets, fastened to each other at their ends. The control member 11 shown as a single, flat sheet before fastening in FIG. 1 is so dimensioned that when the sheet end portions 16 and 17 thereof are fastened together, the assembled length and width of the control member 11 are slightly less than the corresponding interior dimensions of the carton 41 so that the control member 11, in assembled form, is capable of vertical, reciprocating movement within the carton 41 in a manner which will be hereinafter more fully described.

A portion 18 of the control member 11 adjacent to the end portion 17 bears an adhesive coating for fastening the end portions 16 and 17 together to form the assembled control member 11 of the instant invention. Of course, the sheet end portions 16 and 17 may be fastened together by methods other than adhesive fastening to achieve the desired control member. In this alternative case, the sheet fastening portion 18 might have a location and configuration differing from that of the adehsively covered sheet portion 18- of the preferred embodiment.

The control member 11 is also provided with two openings, 19 and 20, which will be hereinafter more fully described as to their shape. The control member 11 is further provided with a plurality of parallel lines of weakness, lines of weakness 14 and being shown in FIG. 1. Line of weakness 14 is placed between the openings 19 and 20, and line of weakness 15 is placed adjacent to the sheet fastening portion 18. The lines of weakness 14 and 15 may be formed in any conventional manner such as by scoring or perforating the control member 11 along the desired line of weakness. The purpose of the lines of weakness 14 and 15 and their exact placement will be hereinafter explained.

As indicated in FIG. 4 and due to lines of weakness 14 and 15, the assembled control member 11 of the preferred embodiment is not self-supporting and lies relatively fiat between the tissues 51 and the top wall 43. In this fiat posture, two distinct portions of the control member 11 are seen to exist, an upper sheet member 21 hereinafter referred to as an upper member and a lower sheet member 22 hereinafter referred to as a lower member. Of course, the sheet members 21 and 22 of the preferred embodiment have substantially the same length. These two sheet members 21 and 22 of the assembled control member 11 correspond to two respective flat sheet portions of the unassembled control member 11, respectively lying between lines of weakness 14 and 15 and lying between line of weakness 14 and sheet end portion 16. The remaining area of the unassembled control member 11, not including sheet members 21 and 22, is sheet fastening portion 18, which is not an identifiable member of the assembled control member 11. In FIG. 6, the support control member 11 is shown with its distinctive, generally elliptical profile, the upper member 21 and the lower member 22 comprising identifiable divisions of the control member 11. The manner of support of the control member 11 will be hereinafter discussed.

The unassembled control member 11, fully shown in FIG. 1, is folded to form the assembled dispensing control member 11 shown in FIG. 2. The adhesive covered sheet portion 18 is folded at line of weakness 15 beneath the upper member 21 and the lower member 22 is then folded at line of weakness 14 beneath the upper member 21. The lines of weakness 14 and 15 promote the folding of portions of the flexible, flat sheet to form the assembled conrol member 11 of the preferred embodiment. The adhesive covered sheet portion 18 can be easily fastened to a portion of the lower member 21 adjacent to the sheet end portion 16 by contacting these two parts of the sheet whereby sheet end portion 17 is fastened to sheet end portion 16 in the adhesive coated area 18, as shown in FIG. 6.

As will be alter explained, it is necessary for the proper functioning of the assembled control member 11 that portions of the openings 19 and 20 be in vertical alignment therein, lower opening 19 being in the lower member 22 and upper opening 20 being in the upper member 21. To obtain this vertical alignment, line of weakness 14 is located midway between the lower opening 19 and the upper opening 20. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, as heretofore indicated and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, openings 19 and 20 are further centered with regard to sheet members 21 and 22 which are of substantially the same length.

The assembled control member 11 is mounted in the carton 41 and fastened to the top wall 43 thereof. The points of attachment 23 and 24 on the upper surface of the upper member 21, and points of attachment 47 and 48 on the under surface of the top wall 43 of the carton 41 provide the locations for adhesively or otherwise fastening the control member 11 to the carton top wall 43. In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, points of attachment 23 and 24 are located at the lengthwise median of the upper member 21, adjacent the midsection of the upper opening 20. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, points of attachment 47 and 48 are located at the lengthwise median of the carton top wall 43 in the top wall portion adjacent the midsection of the dispensing opening 45 therein, the dispensing opening 45 being centered in the carton top wall 43 as the upper control member opening 20 was centered with regard to the upper sheet member 21.

It should be noted, however, that the locations of points of attachment 47 and 48 and consequently the location of the dispensing opening 45 may vary from those in the preferred embodiment so long as the vertically aligned portions of upper opening 20 and lower opening 19 are located in vertical alignment with a portion of the dispensing opening 45.

When mounted within and fastened onto the dispensing carton 41 at the points of attachment 47 and 48 and 23 and 24 as set forth above, the control member 11 is dependent from the top wall 43 and supported by the tissues 51. As shown in FIG. 4, when the tissues 51 fill the dispensing carton 41, the control member 11 is pressed flat against the underside of the top wall 43. As shown in FIG. 6, after the level of tissues 51 has been reduced in height by dispensing, the dispensing control member 11 is supported by both the top wall 43 and the tissues 51 and assumes a generally elliptical profile. The lines of weakness 14 and 15 promote the desired fiat profile of the dispensing control member 11 in the filled dispenser shown in FIG. 3 and promote the proper elliptical configuration of the dispensing control member, as shown in FIG. 6, in the partially filled dispenser. Further, because of its size as heretofore indicated, the control member 11 fits relatively loosely in the interior of the carton 41 and is therefore capable of vertical reciprocating movement therein.

The control member 11 should be made from a sufficienlty flexible material so that the lower member 22 will rest properly on the reduced stack of tissues and so that the upper member 21 will depend properly from the top wall 43. Paperboard of between about 0.007 in. and 0.010 in. in caliper has been found to be a suitably flexible material, although it is to be understood that other suitably fiexible sheet materials may be substituted for the flexible paperboard.

Control member openings 19 and 20 and dispensing opening 45 in the top wall 43 of the carton 41 are designed to promote interrelated, serial dispensing of tissue sheets and to provide ease of access of the top tissue to the grasp of the user. Portions of the openings 19, 20 and 45 are placed in vertical alignment in the dispenser and are made sufiiciently large to accommodate the hand of the user passing therethrough. In the preferred embodiment, substantial central portions 190, 20c and 450 respectively of openings 19, 20 and 45, which all have generally elliptical shapes, are in vertical alignment.

The configuration of the dispensing opening 45 is oval rather than slotted; i.e.: the center is relatively large compared to the ends thereof. This oval configuration is designed to facilitate grasping of the top tissue in the carton.

The upper opening 20 of the control member is preferably larger than the carton top wall opening 45 to avoid certain registration problems inherent in the mechanized construction of such dispensers. On the other hand, the lower opening 19 is relatively restricted. The purpose of making the lower opening 19 restricted is to promote the elevation of upstanding portions of the top tissue. Specifically, in the preferred embodiment, the relatively narrow ends 19a and 19b of the lower opening 19 are pinched or restricted inwardly as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the narrowed or pinched ends 19a and 191) are adapted to cause lateral end portions of the top tissue, pulled through the lower opening 19 by the previously dispensed tissue, to be compressed. The compressed end portions of the tissue provide support for the remaining, central portions of the upstanding tissue, which central portions have passed through the lower opening 19 at the wider center portion 19c thereof.

In use, the loaded dispenser is opened by removing a tear out section conforming to the carton dispensing opening 45. The top tissue may then be pulled out by its shorter fiap through the control member openings 19, 20 and the dispensing opening 45. The friction between the longer flap portion of the top tissue and the shorter flap portion of the next following tissue interleaved with the aforementioned longer fl-ap portion causes the next following tissue to be held in an upstanding position in the carton 41 with its shorter flap portion extending upwardly. As

the tissues 51 are dispensed, as is shown in FIG. 6, the lower member 22 rests upon and follows the downward moving stack. The central portion of the lower member 22 rests upon the top tissue, a portion of which top tissue projects through the lower opening 19.

As each top tissue is successively removed, the friction between the edges of the relatively narrow sections 19b and 19a of the lower opening 19 and the upwardly pulled top tissue causes the dispensing control member 11 to move upwardly with little or no relative movement between the tissue and the lower member 22. As the lower sheet member 22 moves upwardly with the top tissue, the profile of the control member 11 tends to gofrom generally elliptical to fiat, the lower member 22 approaching the upper member 21. When the lower member 22 contacts the upper member 21, upward movement of the control member 11 is substantially restrained. At this time, continued pulling upon the top tissue enables the top tissue to overcome the friction thereof with the restricted end portions 19a and 19b of the lower opening 19 and the tissue is pulled from the carton 41 through the dispensing opening 45. In addition, as the top tissue is pulled upwardly, the next tissue, lying beneath the top tissue, is drawn upwardly and partially through the lower opening 19. As heretofore indicated, friction between the shorter flap portion of the next tissue and the longer flap portion of the top tissue causes the next tissue to be pulled upwardly along with the upward moving top tissue. But, as the shorter flap portion of the next tissue passes through the restricted end portions 19a and 19b of the lower opening 19, the friction therebetween causes this tissue to separate from the top tissue which is being pulled upwardly and away therefrom, and also serves to compress the lateral end portions of the next tissue in the restricted portions of the lower opening. After the top tissue has separated from the next tissue, a portion of this latter tissue extends through and above the lower opening 19, the lower member 22 falling to the surface of the successor top tissue, as shown in FIG. 7. As a result of the interaction between the successive interfolded tissues and the control member 11, the next tissue has become the top tissue, standing in an erect position in the lower opening 19, due to the compressive effect of the end portions 19a and 19b of the lower opening 19, so as to be readily accessible to the users grasp.

Because the control member 11 is fastened to the top wall 43, as heretofore explained, it is held in proper alignment for serial dispensing of the interfolded tissues. Also, the control member 11 cannot become misaligned because it is fastened at a plurality of points. Furthermore, it is free to reciprocate vertically so that the lower member 22 thereof is in continuous contact with the top tissue. In addition, because the control member openings 19 and 20 and the dispensing opening 45 are vertically aligned, the top tissue in contact with the lower sheet member 22 is always accessible to the users grasp.

While openings of any shape might be suitable, it has been found, as heretofore stated, that in the preferred embodiment, generally elliptical or oval, hand-size openings are preferable for openings 19, 20 and 45, the lower opening 19 being relatively restricted at its ends 19a and 1%, as also heretofore explained.

Shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 is a modified embodiment of the control member 11 of the instant invention. Modified control member 111 can also be made from a flat sheet that is constructed from a flexible material such as paperboard which is suitable for use in the alternate control member 11. In the unassembled control member 111, shown in FIG. 8, there is from left to right an end portion 116, a lower member 122, a lower opening 119, an added line of weakness 131, a line of weakness 114, an upper member 121, an upper opening 120, two added lines of weakness 133 and 135, points of attachment 123 and 124, line of weakness 115, a surface portion 118 of the fiat, control member 111 having an adhesive applied to the underside surface thereof, and an end portion 117. It is apparent that the modified control member 111 is similar to the original control member 11, the length and width of both unassembled sheets allowing for unrestricted vertical movement of the completed control members, lower openings 19 and 119 and the upper openings 20 and 120 being located about the lines of weakness 14 and 114 respectively so that these openings are in vertical alignment in the completed control members 11 and 111, and the lines of weakness 15 and 115, adjacent to surface fastening portions 18 and 118, being located so that these lines are adjacent to the end portions 16 and 116 in the assembled dispensing control members 11 and 111.

It should be noted that the location of the adhesive coated portions 18 and 118 may be on either the top side or underside surfaces of the unassembled control members 11 and 111. In the former case, as shown in FIG. 6, the assembled control member will have the adhesive coated portion 18 overlying and adhered to the inner surface of the lower member 22, while in the latter case, as shown in FIG. 10, the adhesive coated surface 118 will underlie and be adhered to the outer surface of the bottom member 122.

It should also be noted that the lower openings 19 and 119 are both generally elliptical with relatively restricted or narrowed ends. The lower opening 119 of the modified embodiment has a different configuration of narrowed ends, the narrowed area being smaller than in the alternative lower opening 19. Both configurations for the lower opening can be used interchangeably in the preferred embodiment of the instant invention.

The principal modifications made in the modified control member 111 are the construction of parallel lines of weakness 131, 133 and 135, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10. Line of weakness 131 is located at the lengthwise median of the lower member 122 adjacent the lower opening 119 and lines of weakness 133 and 135 are located near the lengthwise median of the upper member 121, adjacent to points of attachment 123 and 124 and about the midsection of the material framing the upper opening 120. Due to the lines of weakness 131, 133 and 135, the assembled, modified dispensing control member 111 assumes a generally diamond configuration as shown in FIG. when supported at points of attachment 123 and 124 from the top wall 43 of the carton 41. Of course, as with the alternative control member 11, the profile of the modified control member 111 in a full box of tissues is flat. In the diamond configuration assumed by the control member in a partly dispensed box of tissues, the modified dispensing control member 111 is supported by the stack of tissues (not shown in FIG. 10) along line of weakness 131 and the central portions of top tissue will be upstanding in the lower opening 119 and will be easily accessible to the users grasp.

It should be noted that the unitary control members 11 and 111 might, in the alternative, be constructed from UWO sheet portions corresponding to the lower member 22 and 122 and the upper member 21 and 121. In constructing the control members 11 and 111 of the instant invention, it would be quite simple to provide openings: in each sheet and to fasten the two sheets at both end portions so as to achieve either the elliptical profile of control member 11 or the diamond profile of control member 111.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A flexible, dispensing control member mounted in a dispensing carton for a stack of interfolded sheets of flexible sheet material, from which dispensing carton the sheets therein may be easily dispensed individually by grasping and pulling an elevated portion of a top sheet through a suitable opening on a top wall of the dispensing carton, comprising:

an upper sheet member having a generally rectangular shape and an opening therein, a portion of which upper sheet member, located adjacent a line transverse to the longitudinal axis of the sheet member and passing through the midsection of said opening, being adhered to the top wall of the carton so that a portion of the opening in the upper sheet member is in vertical alignment with a portion of the opening in the top wall; and lower sheet member having a generally rectangular shape, having two opposite end portions which are fastened to and dependent from the respective opposite end portions of the upper sheet member and having an opening therein, a portion of which opening is in vertical alignment with the vertically aligned portions of the openings in the top wall and the upper sheet member.

2. The dispensing control member defined in claim 1 wherein the dispensing control member is made from paperboard.

3. The dispensing control member defined in claim 1 wherein the dispensing member is made from plastic.

4. The dispensing control member defined in claim 1 wherein the lower sheet member and the upper sheet member, the end portions of which are fastened together, comprise a unitary dispensing control member having two openings therein and having two end portions that are fastened together.

5. The unitary dispensing control member in claim 4 wherein a line of weakness is located between the end portions of the upper sheet member.

6. The unitary control dispensing member in claim 5 wherein two lines of weakness are located between the end portions of the upper member, the top two lines of weakness being substantially adjacent to and enclosing between them the portion of the upper sheet member which is fastened to the top wall of the dispenser 7. The unitary dispensing control member in claim 4 wherein a line of weakness is located between the end portions of the lower sheet member.

8. The unitary dispensing control member defined in claim 7 wherein the line of weakness is located at the middle of the lower sheet member.

9. The dispensing control member defined in claim 1 wherein the opening in the lower sheet member is generally elliptical in configuration, the end portions of the lower opening being relatively restricted to promote an upstanding posture of a portion of the top tissue.

10. The dispensing control member defined in claim 1 wherein the opening in the upper member is generally elliptical in configuration.

11. In a dispensing carton for a stack of inter-folded tissues, from which carton the tissues therein can be easily dispensed individually by grasping and pulling an elevated portion of a top tissue through a suitable opening in a top wall of the carton, an improved, flexible dispensing control member comprising:

an upper sheet member having a generally rectangular shape and an opening therein; and

a lower sheet member having a generally rectangular shape and an opening therein, each of the two opposite end portions of the lower sheet member being fastened to a respective opposite end portion of the upper sheet member, a medial portion of said upper sheet member being adhered to a medial portion of the inner surface of said top carton wall adjacent each side of the opening in the top wall, the end portions of said upper sheet member being free of attachment to the carton'top wall, a portion of the opening in the upper sheet member being in vertical alignment with a portion of the opening in the lower sheet member and with a portion of the opening in the top wall of the carton.

12. The flexible, dispensing control member defined in claim 11 wherein the upper sheet member of the control member is fastened to the top wall of the dispensing carton along a line extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the upper sheet member and passing through the midsection of the opening therein and so that the vertically aligned portions of the openings in the upper and lower sheet members are vertically aligned with a portion of the opening in the top wall of the carton.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,254,793 6/1966 Palmer 221-63 3,473,694 10/1969 Murphy et a1 221---63 STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner 

